Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 The people of Israel thirst. The Samaritan woman thirsts.  We thirst.  And Our Lord thirsts.                  Without quenching these thirsts it leads to weakness, fatigue and even death.  The Sacred Scriptures today remind us that thirst must be slacked on two levels: the physical and the spiritual.

      The panic that comes upon the people in Exodus is legitimate but there is something lacking in their desire.  They have forgotten the providence of the One Who led them out of slavery.  They forgot the Source of water itself.  They wasted their energies on complaint rather than calling upon the Holy Name to care for their needs.  They wagged a finger at God rather than kneeling in humility and asking for His help.  They felt entitled.  They lacked trust.  The spiritual element of their needs was completely overshadowed by their ego.  They did not thirst for God.

       The parched soul of the Samaritan woman was brought on by shame, self hatred, fear of being in human company thus causing her to die a slow and painful spiritual death.  Feelings of worthlessness will do that.  All of that changed when she came expecting to come to the well water and instead encountering the Living Water Christ the Lord.  His thirst for her soul quenched her beyond imaging.  And so He thirsts for us.  It begins, of course, with our Baptism and continues throughout the course of our earthly journey.  We come, and often should, to the Well of Reconciliation where we too encounter the Living Water of restoration and refreshment.  Physically, how energized we feel after a bath or shower, ready to take on the world. Spiritually, how we feel after going to Confession, ready to take up the cross anew and follow Him.

     Get quenched.  Avail yourself to the many opportunities to make a good Confession during Lent and revivify your drooping spirit.   He is thirsting for you.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Class will be held today.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    Those things which are meant to make life easier have very often made life more complicated and introduced an anxiety unknown in earlier days. Everything now is computerized and trying to speak to a real person, even if they make mistakes, regarding billing is frustrating.  The consequence of this breeds suspicion about everything. We are almost “programmed” to not trust much of what we hear and even see.  Unfortunately, this can even creep into our understanding of faith.

     Truly, we have that wonderful axiom from St Anselm:  “:fides quaerens intellectum” (faith seeks understanding) and that, of course, is a good thing lest we receive the Faith like automatons rather than creatures created in the image and likeness of God.  Sometimes, however, that struggle with Faith can perplex us and the only recourse is to assume  that God knows better than me.  Such was the case with our father in faith, Abraham.

     No doubt Abraham had his suspicions, his struggle to understand the proposal, the covenant that God offered to him.  Already aged, settled in and reasonably comfortable ( something we all aspire to) God asked him, of his own volition, to leave it all and start a new life in a far-off land.  God made promises. But Who was this unknown God heretofore, and why an old man and his wife, and why leave the familiarity of his present surroundings?  Abraham was called to make a big leap into the unknown and he did.

       Certainly not to the same extent as Abraham, but we too are invited by God to make some leaps of faith.  Where they take us we do not know.  What the cost may be again a mystery. We must overcome our suspicious inclination because God always keeps His promises.  And just as the Lord’s companions on Mt. Tabor only later came to realize the significance of our Lord’s Transfiguration so too shall we one day know why God asks us to place all our trust in Him.

      This  coming Monday, March 2nd, at 700pm, Bishop Bambera will preside at the Holy Hour in St. Thomas More, Lake Ariel. This is his annual Lenten visitation to our deanery and all parishes in the Honesdale deanery are invited to attend. May our parishioners make every effort to be in attendance and show our allegiance to our Bishop and solidarity with our neighboring parishes.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

Faith Formation classes and the Class Mass are cancelled due to weather.

10:30 Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary Magdalen Church. 4:00 Vespers has been cancelled.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    How often when we encounter new people do they ask us ,  “where are you from?”   Have you ever considered looking at the ground and saying, “that’s where I’m from, and “that’s where I’m going.”  Sounds silly, doesn’t it, but it’s true.  After all; “unto dust you shall return.”  As we are reminded by today’s Genesis reading.  Lent is the time for us to face this reality but less we become dis-spirited by it we know and believe that something great and wonderful awaits us namely the Lord’s Resurrection and eventually, ours.  Lent helps us to shed those obstacles and impediments that obscure our destiny.  A destiny that began when the spirit of life was breathed into Adam and subsequently ourselves.  A spirit that had been tainted by self-centeredness, namely sin and restored to pristine innocence by the precious blood and water that flowed from the pierced Heart of Christ.  Blood and Water that has been sacramentalized by Christ Himself in Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.

    Because of the consequences of that original act of selfishness, i.e., Original Sin, we are inclined to slip back into that tainted state that occludes the brilliant glory of God’s life in us.  Happily, in His mercy, God provides a remedy to restore us, namely the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  If not already, this is a must if one is serious about having a fruitful and grace-filled Lent.  Our spiritual exercise and Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and works of charity all lead us to the refreshing waters of absolution when we make a good confession.  What buried trash we may be carrying in the deep recesses of our soul, what shameful burdens we heave all the while wondering when there will be relief.  Well, there surely is relief when we hear those words of Christ through the lips of his priests:” I absolve you….” 

    Have a productive and deeply spiritual Lent.

With Blessings,

Father Langan

11:20AM – St. Mary Magdalen

5:00PM – St. Joseph’s, Rileyville

6:00PM – St. Bernard’s, Beach Lake

7:00PM – St. Mary Magdalen

St. Mary Magdalen: 7:25am & 12:05pm

4:00pm (Distribution of Ashes Only)

St. Joseph’s, Rileyville: 5:30pm

St. Bernard’s, Beach Lake: 6:00pm

10:30 Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary Magdalen Church.